Lesson plan (English)
Topic: The Clergy and the Lay People – The Readers and the Listeners
Target group
5th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
5th‑grade students of elementary school
IV. Society and culture of medieval Europe. Pupil:
1) (...) explains the concept of state and characterizes social divisions in the Middle Ages;
2) describes the living conditions of the medieval city and village;
3) compares knight's culture and urban culture, describes the characteristic features of the medieval knight's pattern, recognizes monuments of medieval culture, indicates differences between the Romanesque style and the gothic style;
4) explains the role of the church (including religious orders) in the fields of science, architecture, art and everyday life.
General aim of education
Students learn what the people in the Middle Ages dealt with and what their duties were.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to describe what were the tasks and the role of the clergy in the Middle Ages;
to define what were the social groups and occupations that the townsfolk fell into;
to describe what were the origins of the knight and magnate classes;
to explain why it was virtually impossible to change one’s class (standing) in the Middle Ages.
Methods/techniques
expository
talk.
activating
discussion.
programmed
with computer;
with e‑textbook.
practical
exercices concerned.
Forms of work
individual activity;
activity in pairs;
activity in groups;
collective activity.
Teaching aids
e‑textbook;
notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;
interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.
Lesson plan overview
Before classes
Students recall how the orders came into being and what feudal relationships were.
Introduction
The teacher gives the students the subject, the purpose of the lesson and the criteria for success.
The teacher, referring to the homework, asks students what the medieval society was like. Was it united or was it divided into groups? Did everyone have the same rights and obligations? Asking questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions.
Students read the text from Exercise 1 and follow the instructions attached to it. Then the teacher makes sure that they were done correctly and gives feedback to the students.
Realization
The teacher introduces students to the topic of the lesson, explaining that the division into orders made that medieval society, even though it lived together, its parts were separated. Then he divides the students into three groups, assigning each of them a social group - knights, clergy, townsmen. The students' task is to prepare the characteristics of each of them, taking into account: the social role, what they did, what their duties and responsibilities were, as well as its internal diversity and legacy for future generations (what we owe each of these groups). The teacher also points out that these groups were not uniform within themselves, e.g. clergy - another role of pastors and other rof monks; students should also take this into account.
Students present their groups. Starting with knights - they do Exercise 2; then the clergy - students perform Exercise 3, and finally the bourgeoisie - the students carry out the Task 1. The teacher checks the correctness of the exercises performed, and then responds to them giving feedback to the students.
Students perform Exercise 4, assigning descriptions to a graphic representation of the respective orders in an interactive illustration. Then the teacher asks the question, did something connect the social groups that the students „studied” today? And does something also connect them with the peasant order? The teacher takes care of the feedback provided to the students during solving exercises and executing tasks.
Summary
The students watch the film from the textbook „Struktura społeczna średniowiecza” and try to answer the question: Was there one culture in this society or different groups created different cultures?.
The teacher distributes evaluation surveys to the students, in which they evaluate their own work during the classes, their activity as well as their colleagues. They will also assess what content was interesting, what they liked and what should be changed or improved.
Homework
The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the script): You already know what the medieval society and its culture looked like. Think about it and answer what it looks like in today's society - do we live in one culture or many? In which direction is the world heading - the construction of one common culture or development of different places, people and prevailing customs?.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Skryptorium – pomieszczenie przeznaczone do ręcznego kopiowania kodeksów i przepisywania ksiąg. Znajdowały się w klasztorach, katedrach i kolegiatach.
Kopista – w średniowieczu osoba zajmująca się kopiowaniem i przepisywaniem dokumentów i ksiąg. Często nazywana była również skrybą.
Pokój Boży – wprowadzony przez Kościół katolicki w epoce średniowiecza zespół zasad zapobiegających wojnom prowadzonym przez panów feudalnych oraz stanowiący zabezpieczenie podróżnych przed napaściami.
Lichwa – nieetyczne pożyczki z zawyżonymi odsetkami. W średniowieczu za lichwę uważano pobieranie jakichkolwiek odsetek od zaciąganych pożyczek. Była potępiana przez Kościół jako sprzedaż czegoś, co nie istnieje.
Patrycjat – najzamożniejsza grupa mieszczan sprawująca rządy i posiadająca władzę ekonomiczną w mieście. Korzystała z przywilejów miejskich i uprawnień feudalnych.
Pospólstwo – w średniowieczu średniozamożna grupa zamieszkująca miasto (rzemieślnicy, drobni kupcy, sprzedawcy).
Plebs – najniższa warstwa społeczna w średniowiecznych miastach, najczęściej nie posiadająca majątku i miejskiego obywatelstwa, przez co odsunięta od udziału w życiu politycznym miasta.
Czeladnik – jeden ze stopni potwierdzających nabycie przez ucznia umiejętności dzięki, którym posiadał wiedzę rzemieślniczą.
Cech – związek zawodowo‑społeczny skupiający rzemieślników wykonujących ten sam zawód w danym mieście.
Gildia – stowarzyszenie zrzeszające kupców działających w danym mieście. Pełniła podobne funkcje co cech skupiający rzemieślników.
Stan – zbiorowość społeczna w eutopejskim społeczeństwie feudalnym
Texts and recordings
The Clergy and the Lay People – The Readers and the Listeners
In the Middle Ages, much like in the present times, there existed various groups that members of society fell into, and the various roles they entailed. The shaping of the social classes brought about a very clear division of the Medieval society that would last for centuries to come. On the one hand, it assigned certain roles, rights, and obligations to each of the groups, but, on the other, it made leaving the social class of one’s birth very difficult. The members of the classes were not uniform, either. There existed many divisions and differences between them. Sources indicate that the warriors, knights and magnates played the first fiddle. They were the ones that shaped the Medieval state and played decisive roles in politics, and, in addition, fronted the heftiest sums for the development of arts and culture. They placed great emphasis on family tradition, and, in later centuries, on Christianity and its defense (“the Christian knight” – “miles Christianus”). The unwavering base of the knightly virtue was the loyalty towards one’s lord, then, later, also towards God and the Church. The warrior became a man of God, and the sword – the expression of divine will. The image of the stern, divine warrior began to change at the turn of the twelfth century, when the existing virile virtues were joined by the love of beauty and noble damsels, as well as the ability to understand and enjoy arts and culture.
The second fiddle was played by the people of the Chuch and God. In those times, they constituted the intellectual elite of society; they were responsible for safeguarding and relaying the memory of the European culture and tradition. This was rendered possible owing to, above all, operating on the same, unchanging rules, the same culture, and based on one, unchanging language – Latin. The care for memory and culture, however, was not the most important task of the people of the Church, even though they constituted pillars of both. Their main objective was to ensure that the Christians were under sacerdotal care, as well as to preach the Word of God to those that did not know it. They believed that this way they were implementing the advice of Christ himself, bringing the people to the highest form of good, and ensuring them eternal life.
The final group to be discussed was made up of the townsfolk. This one had many layers and divisions. Using the material status of its members, one can distinguish the patricians – the most wealthy ones who possessed all of the political power; the commoners, or the majority of the townsfolk and the towns’ general population; and the plebeians – the town’s poorest that had few rights and little money. Belonging to either of the groups determined one’s degree of participation in the town’s political life. What united the townsfolk, rich and poor alike, were the temples. They had “better” and “worse” spots inside them, but the townsfolk prayed for their towns’ prosperity together. At the same time, the relations between the Church and the townsfolk were complicated. On the one hand, the bishops were often the caretakers and managers of entire communities. On the other, many towns where money reigned supreme would become centers of sin and witness many turn their backs on God. Owing to the development of trade and convenient geographical situation, the cities of Italy and the Netherlands became the richest, with time rendering their surroundings dependent on them and becoming independent states. They became the symbol of the townsfolk’s freedom from duties towards the aristocracy, the knights, and the clergy.